North Korean Soldiers Cross Border Shots Fired in Return

In an escalation over the growing tensions between North Korea and South Korea over the North's plan to test a Nuclear Bomb, North Korean Soldiers
have crossed the Border into Normans land, towards the border with the South who have responded by firing warning shots.

www.washingtonpost.com
SEOUL, South Korea -- Gunfire rang out Saturday along the heavily armed no man's land separating the divided Koreas, as regional tensions mounted in
anticipation of communist North Korea's plan to test its first atomic bomb.

South Korean soldiers fired about 40 shots as a warning after five North Korean soldiers crossed a boundary in the Demilitarized Zone separating the
two country's forces, South Korean military officials said.

While such border skirmishes are not unheard of, they are relatively rare. Saturday's incursion was only the second this year, the official said. The
North sometimes orchestrates border skirmishes to jack up tensions at sensitive moments in international standoffs.

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Well this situation seems to be rapidly deteriating. With the current tensions over the North Korea’s plans escalating, a small skirmish like this
could very rapidly turn into something much bigger.

What worries me is the amount of US troops and equipment who are on the border in the South. If just one small incident occurred that killed an
American happened I feel that it could quickly become a full confrontation as this is the most milaritised zone in the world. I hope calm prevails.

While there has been no "official" confirmation on why the North Korean soldiers breached the DM zone, it's been suggested that they may have done
so to simply catch fish in a stream. As innocuous as that may sound/seem, my guess is that only time will tell.

Considering the obvious rise in tensions between the two, it could end up being as "innocent" as suggested, an attempt at provocation, or just more
propaganda driven by various media outlets than anything else.

Time indeed has been the only factor. Six party talk's, HA, just putting off yard work. The weed's just get bigger when you ignore them. But, there
are so many voice's out there calling for more laziness; 'Bring me another Lemonade please, if I sit long enough the field's will clear
themselve's.' You know who you are!

It's my understanding that stuff like this, though not common, is not unheard of either. I served with a guy in the Army who had 2nd ID combat
patches and was no where near old enough to have served in the Korean War. I initially though he was FoS. Upon further investigation, (looking at
DD201s(think that's the form) turns out there were some incidents on the DMZ back in the early to mid eighties that authorized the award of a combat
service patch. I never served in RoK, but know quite a few who did. It seems like anyone who was stationed in South Korea in a combat arms either
experienced first hand or served with someone over there who experienced a skirmish/incursion. Even in the mid 90's when i was on active duty we
would have people rotate in from Korea who would talk about things happening on the DMZ that never made the news here. So like i said incidents on the
DMZ happen from time to time. If the DPRK weren't currently rattling nuclear sabres this would probably be a two sentence blurb buried deep in the
Asian news section. Given the current tensions this could be same ol' same ol' on the DMZ just getting more attention due to current tensions, some
DPRK soldiers trying to fish up some grub(which though possible,i suppose, the amount of mines in the area would deter all but the
hungriest/stupidest), an actuall instigation by North Korea, or world media and PTB taking a rare but not unheard of incident and using it to further
ratchet up tensions. Oh, almost forgot, have heard multiple stories of patrols being led by a green and/or incompetent NCO or officer going on patrol
getting lost and by the time they get their bearings discovering they have crossed the border. I'm sure that happens on both sides.

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